Smithfield Foods, Inc.—America’s largest producer of hogs and leading processor and marketer of fresh pork and processed meats—plans to build a $20 million

facility to convert swine waste into biodiesel fuel as part of the BEST BioFuel partnership. The facility will convert manure into biomethanol, which can be used to produce biodiesel... Read more

complex because multiple forest certification programs exist, with similarities and differences; almost as quickly as architects and specifiers can get a handle on the features of these programs, they change. It is... Read more

Meanwhile, American Bio-Fuels, LLC, is doing their part to revolutionize biodiesel production. Bio-Fuels is constructing the

first continuous-flow biodiesel facility in the country. At peak production, the Bakersfield, California plant is expected to produce 35 million gallons (132.5 million liters) of biodiesel per year, making it the... Read more

Two leaders in the St. Louis green-design community have joined forces to start their own firm,

Hellmuth & Bicknese Architects, LLC, specializing in sustainable design. The firm is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, and principals Dan Hellmuth, AIA, and Ralph Bicknese, AIA, are among the founders of USGBC’s St. Louis... Read more

American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment. This guide is available free of charge as a series of Web pages and downloadable PDF files. Visit

www.aia.org/cote_rfps.

Several new developments at the American Society for Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning (ASHRAE) reflect the Society’s growing focus on issues of sustainability. These include the creation of a new technical committee (TC) on the topic, the signing of a partnering agreement with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the... Read more

Environmental Building News

Archives. This seventh-edition CD-ROM includes more than ten years of EBN—from the first issue in mid-1992 through the end of 2002. Packed with more than 1,500 pages of green building information, the

Archives are fully searchable and provide instant access to every... Read more

The federal Energy Star

® program is promoting the use of

energy-efficient, low-voltage transformers in new construction and renovations. Low-voltage transformers, which convert the electricity supplied by a utility or larger transformer to the voltage needed by lights, appliances, and equipment, continuously drain energy, even... Read more

Following five years of litigation, Arizona courts have upheld residents’

right to install solar water heaters and photovoltaic panels. When residents of an Avondale, Arizona master-planned community installed solar panels to heat their swimming pools, Garden Lakes Community Association retaliated by filing a lawsuit requiring removal... Read more

I was just looking at the February issue of

Environmental Building News (

Vol. 12, No. 2) and couldn’t help but notice the article about paints made from vegetable oil (“American Pride – Paint Made from Vegetable Oil”). I have to say that someone appears to have pulled the wool over someone’s eyes. Making paints from vegetable... Read more

is seeking volunteers and donations as they prepare for a

Middle East refugee crisis stemming from the war in Iraq. Iran, bordering both Iraq and Afghanistan—and already estimated to house more refugees than any other country—is bracing for the possible influx of over one million additional Iraqis in coming... Read more

The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, will offer a course in

International Sustainable Building and Urban Design this September. The course, intended for mid-career professionals, will include expert workshops, excursions in Germany and Belgium, and participation in the... Read more

EBN mourns the death of Jeffrey Cook, Regents Professor of Architecture at Arizona State University in Tempe and a pioneer in low-energy, passive solar design, who died of colon cancer on March 27. He chaired several early Passive Solar Conferences, was the founding editor in 1980 of the

Passive Solar Journal, and was a founder of the... Read more

The

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has moved its headquarters from Oaxaca, Mexico to Bonn, Germany. FSC plans to use the new International Center to coordinate FSC activities worldwide. The Oaxaca office will serve Latin America, joining a network of regional offices that will eventually include hubs in Asia, Africa, Europe, the... Read more

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected its 2003 Honor Award recipients. The esteemed awards will be presented at the AIA National Convention and Expo, to be held in San Diego, California this May. This year’s selections, chosen from nearly 600 submissions, include 15 whole buildings, 11 interiors, and 5 urban design projects.... Read more

In Volume 11, No. 12, EBN included Kalwall® R-20 (RSI-3.1) with Nanogel in its list of ten best new green building products. Certainly the first commercial use of aerogel is a remarkable milestone. It is very worthy of an EBN award.

The Portland, Oregon-based Bonneville Environmental Foundation has announced an impressive

increase in support of Northwest wind and solar energy production. Due largely to new commercial accounts, Bonneville’s Green Tag renewable energy sales were 471% higher in 2002 than in the previous year! These sales represent the avoidance of... Read more